Arizona Auction Week Recap

Arizona Auction Week wraps up today with sales continuing at Barrett-Jackson, Russo and Steele and Silver Auctions Arizona, but it will be somewhat anti-climactic after an amazing Saturday.

On Saturday, the high-dollar sale of the week was achieved when a 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB Speciale purpose-built for Batista Pininfarina sold for more than $8 million at Gooding & Company, and when Barrett-Jackson’s staged its Salon Collection and its emotional charity sales.

According to Hagerty, the insurance and vehicle-valuation company that staffs each of the auction venues during the week, “Missed sales at the upper echelon is the single biggest culprit” in the fact that overall sales are down from 2017 totals, although the sell-through rate is off only one point and the average sales price is 2 percent higher than a year ago.

Only half as many cars valued in the $2 million to $5 million range have been sold this year, Hagerty noted in its daily report. “Some market observers have suggested this could be a hangover from the change in the tax code affecting 1031 like-kind exchanges of automobiles.”

However, it added, “For the rest of the market, properly presented vehicles that don’t have known issues are performing well — not only is average price up from a year ago, but vehicles are doing better against the auction house estimates than in 2017, especially for those presented in excellent condition.”

Gooding & Company had a strong day Saturday and finished its two-day sale some $16 million ahead of its 2017 Arizona sale. Not only did it post the high-sale of the week, but a 1931 Bugatti Type 55 roadster sold for $4.07 million and a 1967 Ferrari 330 GTS brought $2.53 million.

However, as our Bob Golfen, who was present at the sale noted, “The GTB’s seller dropped the minimum price during the bidding when it became clear that it, too, would not make reserve. The sale (hammer price) was $650,000 below the low estimated value. Still, it’s a record price for the (steel-bodied version of this) Ferrari model.”

“Another multi-million Ferrari sale at Gooding that sparked interest was that of a 1967 Ferrari 330 GTS convertible that sold for $2.3 million,” Golfen noted. “Auctioneer Charlie Ross said from the podium that the black Ferrari had been re-purchased by the original owner of the car, which raised a round of applause for the unusual sale.”

The top sale Saturday at Barrett-Jackson was $2.5 million for the first 2017 Ford GT to be offered at auction. But the highlight at that sale was the 10 charity vehicles, bidding boosted by the presence of former President George W. Bush, Jay Leno and Chad McQueen, selling for $6.21 million.

Among “standard lots,” a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 sold for $770,000, which Hagerty noted was “well above” what the Hagerty Price Guide would value such a vehicle.

The top sale at Russo and Steele was a 1964 Cheetah GT for $660,000. Another noteworthy sale there was a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette 427/435 L71 convertible that brought $302,500, which Hagerty noted was “a big jump” over the $148,000 for which the same vehicle sold at auction in 2012.

Silver Auctions Arizona had its first six-figure sale of the week Saturday when a 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 SportRoof sold for $206,280.

Following are preliminary results from the various venues, excluding post-block transactions. Figures include buyer’s fees.